Posted on 08/10/2009 10:01:42 AM PDT by AJKauf
This past week, Macon Phillips, President Obama’s director of new media announced (under a heading “Facts are Stubborn Things”) that there was a lot of “disinformation” being circulated about the proposed health care plan and asked anyone who received an email critical of it or who “see[s] something on the web about health insurance reform that seems ‘fishy’” to report it to flag@whitehouse.gov.
Several commenters, noting the chilling effect a database of opponents of the White House might have, suggested that a suit might be brought for violation of the Privacy Act of 1974, a post-Nixon statute that prohibits federal agencies from maintaining records on citizens who are exercising their free speech rights to dissent from government policy (5 U.S.C. § 552).
When you consider that the Privacy Act was passed to deal with overreaching by a president and his staff, you’d have every reason to suppose that it would forbid the present White House’s plan of action.
You’d be wrong, though. ...
(Excerpt) Read more at pajamasmedia.com ...
It does seem odd that a law inspired by alleged presidential shenanigans would exempt the office of the president.
The author of this piece is either too young to remember or to stupid to comprehend history as it relates to this practice.
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Let me get this straight.
Nixon was problematic, sooo... We need a Law!
Hmmmm...
Law says cannot delete. Another law says no list.
Thank the Lord, AG Holder must be on this.
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